Public Statements

Congressman Rothman's Statement on the House Committee on Homeland Security Hearing Held on March 10, 2011

Statement

Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ-9), a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense; and State and Foreign Operations, released the following statement:

Every day is a day to embrace our fellow Americans with tolerance, respect, and, indeed, love. Any action, including a congressional hearing, that would call into question the patriotism of any race, religion, or ethnicity is deeply offensive to me and hurtful to those being negatively stereotyped.

Yesterday's hearing on "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response" by the House Committee on Homeland Security did not address the very real problem of homegrown terrorists or forward our national security interests. In addition to being insulting to our Muslim-American brothers and sisters it also feeds into the dangerous perception that the United States of America is at war with Islam. The U.S. is not at war with any religion, we are at war with terrorists and their extremist supporters.

When Congress acts in such a shameful way, it brings back memories of the hearings by Senator Joseph McCarthy of the 1950s and the Japanese internment camps of 1942. Those are both appropriately considered a national disgrace and are two of the darkest chapters in recent American history. We must not go down that road again.